After rebirth, I became a great master

Chapter 296 The hope of the whole village

Going abroad.

Zhou Haoran was with the school's exchange group.

Not only did he not have to pay any money.

The school also gave him a $3000 reimbursement allowance, allowing him to shop freely in the United States. Such good treatment was not even given to Vice Principal Zhang, who was leading the group. He was truly showered with affection.

However, public funds should be spent sparingly.

The exchange group bought round-trip economy class tickets.

Sitting and flying for more than ten hours at a time is really hard to handle if you're not in good health.

Ji Yingyang, Hu Xiaochen, and Qiao Nuo departed from Hongqiao Airport two days later. Zhou Haoran, feeling sorry for his female apprentice, asked Yangyang to buy three first-class tickets.

Prices have skyrocketed.

It will be more expensive than it will be in twenty years!
One ticket costs nearly 8!
Three first-class tickets cost 24 yuan.

Zhou Haoran arrived two days early and went straight to Stanford University.

I was somewhat disappointed when I got there.

At Stanford, it was indeed Professor Hops, the department chair, who received us.

However, he was not receiving the exchange group from Fudan University, but Tan Mingliang and Zhou Haoran.

Professor Hopes is Tan Mingliang's doctoral supervisor.

Zhou Haoran's two papers were also published within half a month thanks to his connections, which allowed him to use a fast track.

The two professors and several doctoral and graduate students from Stanford University welcomed Tan Mingliang, an old friend, and Zhou Haoran, the legendary young genius.

The exchange group from Fudan University.

It was nominally an academic exchange between the two schools.

In reality, they're just taking advantage of the government's generosity to travel on a publicly funded trip!

No wonder they gave Zhou Haoran a special reimbursement allowance of $3000. Without him, the other school leaders wouldn't have had such a legitimate reason to come to Silicon Valley for vacation.

This exchange trip, including airfare, accommodation, and meals, will cost at least 20 yuan!

Given the current economic conditions in China, unless it's paid for by the government, individuals really can't afford to consume it.

Fortunately, Professor Hope was very enthusiastic, and his colleague Professor Reed, as well as students Dr. Justin, Dr. Fied, and others, all showed a very positive attitude and welcomed Zhou Haoran's visit.

That day, a tea party was held at the school, and we chatted for an entire afternoon.

That evening, I went to Professor Hops's house and we talked for several hours.

Zhou Haoran's genuine talent and knowledge of the computer and internet industries were highly recognized by Professor Hops' team. He stated that he would invite more Stanford computer science professors to join the discussion tomorrow.

Once back at the hotel.

Zhou Haoran was completely exhausted. "This is really tiring."

"You're doing great! You have this much energy even without jet lag." Tan Mingliang thought it was wonderful to be young and full of energy. "Just now, my eyelids were practically drooping."

Zhou Haoran said, "There are still several more groups tomorrow and the day after!"

"It's academic exchange, after all." Tan Mingliang was used to it. "It's the same in the US and China; it's all about personal connections. The more big names you know in the field, the higher your profile and the higher your academic standing. Academic standing... is essentially not about how good you are, but how the industry perceives your ability."

Zhou Haoran said unhappily, "Things aren't going too well at school either!"

Tan Mingliang said slowly, "Truth is within the range of cannons, and so is scholarship."

Zhou Haoran remained silent and nodded.

Tan Mingliang said, "The domestic computer industry can't even keep up with the forefront of academic research, let alone provide any academic achievements to the world. Take our Dean Cheng, for example. He is an academician and should be an academic leader, but he can't even understand English papers and can only read some secondary materials. How can he lead the way?"

Zhou Haoran sighed, "It will take more time."

"You are the hope of the whole village."

Tan Mingliang sat on the edge of the bed, took off his clothes, and told the truth.

"I know."

Zhou Haoran could naturally sense that whether it was the school, the college, or even Director Dou of the special department, they all took special care of him.

This feeling is both pressure and responsibility.

Tan Mingliang said, "In the industry, there are several academic bigwigs who came from China, but they have all changed their nationality and are now foreigners, representing the United States. I estimate that many people are most worried about you changing your nationality now. If you also change your nationality, your hopes will be dashed."

Zhou Haoran had no intention of changing his nationality. He pondered for a moment and said, "The academic world is a vast ocean, and I am at most a small drop of water. Even if I were to leave and blend into the ocean, I would still be insignificant. It is almost impossible for the rise of a great power to be entrusted to me alone."

Tan Mingliang laughed and said, "Even a small drop of water is better than nothing."

"However, I have a solution."

Zhou Haoran narrowed his eyes.

Tan Mingliang had already taken off his clothes, wearing only a pair of black underwear, and was preparing to take a shower.

Hearing this, she turned to look at him.

"any solution?"

"If you don't break, you won't stand!"

"what?"

Tan Mingliang didn't quite understand what he meant.

Zhou Haoran said calmly, "The current computer industry is a vast ocean that belongs to the United States. Even if I rise to prominence, I'm just a tiny drop of water. This is bound to lead to a huge gap between China and the United States."

Tan Mingliang sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. The US has been developing this industry for four or five decades, while China has only just begun to get involved." "If we sacrifice my personal life to turn this ocean into international waters, shared globally, then we'll have the opportunity to share in the technological dividends of America's decades of development. That's our country's real opportunity for development!"

Zhou Haoran was upright and righteous, like a warrior.

Tan Mingliang, looking rather incongruous, half-naked, stared at him in astonishment, "Sacrifice what?"

Zhou Haoran pondered for a moment and said, "The current scientific order is dominated and constructed by the United States. Over the past few decades, it has formed an elite monopoly on knowledge and set up one patent threshold after another. I remember that in the 60s, some people in the United States called for the democratization of knowledge, hoping to break the elite monopoly, promote public participation in scientific research, and promote open access to academic knowledge."

"Academic OA?"

Tan Mingliang, an industry insider and a PhD student in the United States, immediately understood what he meant.

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "Yes, it's OA, which promotes the free and open access to research results, without being restricted by technology, law, or finance. I've heard that this kind of argument is resurfacing in the United States now?"

"Yes, but it's hard to get things moving." Tan Mingliang is very familiar with this. "Some papers with relatively low value are okay, but no one is really that fearless to publish those valuable core papers for free."

Zhou Haoran declared with righteous indignation, "I can!"

The traditional model of the technology industry arose around the Western concepts of "private property" and "privatization," which led to the current prevalent patent system.

For example, publishing a paper.

This paper is copyrighted.

Others need to pay to subscribe to the journal in order to read it.

If you want to use some of the new concepts in a paper for technology development, you need to collaborate with the paper's authors, either by paying them or by sharing the patents.

Because it is profitable, many people are enthusiastic about cutting-edge technology.

This has also created a virtuous cycle in the market.

However, over time, this can lead to a small-scale elite monopoly on knowledge and technology.

This leads some research teams to try to circumvent other people's intellectual property systems in order to complete a project, causing the project development to encounter bottlenecks and be unable to break through for a long time.

This would be very detrimental to the development of human technology!
Some people raised objections.

In the 60s, a communist ideology emerged in the United States, demanding technology sharing and intellectual property sharing... This wave was naturally suppressed.

By the late 90s, the Internet had arrived.

This trend is back!

However, it was only 97, and this trend was still in its infancy, unable to gain traction. Few people were willing to relinquish their enormous personal interests to share all their research findings with the world for free.

This trend, in particular, has been met with strong opposition from several Silicon Valley heavyweights!

The first person to object was Steve Jobs!

Then there's Bill Gates, the big boss of Microsoft, and Larry Ellison, the big boss of Oracle.

They are the biggest beneficiaries of the current system.

I'm not willing to share it for free!
They own the entire computer industry; why should they give it up?
However, with the emergence of the internet industry...

The new generation of young technologists clearly have a grander vision and a more ambitious dream for technology than these older folks. They are also more determined to break away from the old world and embrace the new era.

However, there is currently a lot of resistance.

We are still missing a guide.

Zhou Haoran wanted to step forward.

With the power of my tiny drop of water, I will stir up the entire ocean!
Let's share that private ocean!
"You want to be a national hero, don't you!"

Tan Mingliang was greatly shocked when he heard what he meant.

Zhou Haoran said solemnly, "You said I am the hope of the whole village, and I have to set an example. I have made up my mind. I plan to give up all the intellectual property rights related to my future papers and share them with the world for free."

"Wait!" Tan Mingliang felt this was a big deal, a very serious matter. "You'd better not make this decision on your own, right?"

"what?"

Zhou Haoran pretended not to know.

Tan Mingliang suggested, "I think you shouldn't be hasty about this. Don't tell the Americans yet. After you return to China, submit a report to the school and then to the relevant government departments, explaining the whole story clearly."

Zhou Haoran nodded. "That works too."

Tan Mingliang said with maturity and composure: "It's not easy for a country to produce an academic genius like you, representing the country, and you've finally written a few world-class papers. You've given up the intellectual property rights and shared them directly with the world. This is a loss of state-owned assets."

"What does this all mean?"

Zhou Haoran couldn't help but laugh.

He had made up his mind.

This has to be done.

And it has to be fast!

The internet has come on too fast.

The new generation of young people in the United States also rebels against tradition, are fed up with the atmosphere of technological monopoly in the past, and advocate the new concept of "democratization of technology".

This is the mission that has fallen on the shoulders of a generation of internet professionals.

Zhou Haoran didn't seize the opportunity to be the first to step forward.

In a year or two, even if he wanted to make a name for himself, it would be too late.

Even the chance to become a "martyr" is gone.

We need to hurry!
We must dedicate ourselves to changing the world and serving our country!
(End of this chapter)